Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 accident near Marlboro, New Jersey, August 7, 1993
On August 7, 1993 at about 10:50 pm local time, a Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000, registered NC365M, was destroyed in an accident near Marlboro, New Jersey (Marlboro airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, and the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and inflight collision with the terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 7, 1993 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Marlboro, New Jersey · Marlboro
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Curtiss-Wright TRAVEL AIR 4000 TRAVEL AIR
- Registration
- NC365M · no longer on the register · serial 1297
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THIS FLIGHT WAS THE NINTH SIGHTSEEING FLIGHT OF THE DAY FOR THIS AIRPLANE AND PILOT. NO PROBLEMS HAD BEEN REPORTED ON THE EARLIER FLIGHTS. AFTER TAKEOFF AND AT AN ALTITUDE OF APPROXIMATELY 150 FEET, THE ENGINE LOST POWER AND IT BEGAN TO SPUTTER. THE PILOT INITIATED A LEFT TURN TO LAND ON A FIELD NORTH OF THE AIRPORT. DURING THIS TURN, THE PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE, AND IT IMPACTED THE GROUND IN ANOSE LOW ATTITUDE. A POST-IMPACT FIRE DESTROYED THE AIRPLANE AND SEVERELY BURNED THE ENGINE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE ENGINE REVEALED NO DISCREPANCIES.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,636 hours in all; 336 in this make and model; 385 in the last 90 days; 134 in the last 30 days; 2,516 as pilot in command; 1,671 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,276 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 19, 1993; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental W670-6A (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Biplane Adventure Tours, LTD.
The flight
- Departed from: 2N8 at 10:50 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 2,156 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.